Loyalty to the State
by Guo
Summary: Just a story about Sasarai and various points in his life.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Suikoden or any of its characters, locations, etc.  
  
OTHER NOT SO IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: A certain law of Suikoden physics will be bent in this story. When a true rune bearer dies, the rune is supposed to go into dormancy. I am writing this as if the rune slowly leaves the body as it decays, for plot purposes.  
  
Prologue -----------------------------------  
  
Deep within the confines of the Circle Palace, two babies were created. As the unholy power of the True Rune seals matured, these two children grew older. Two years after their birth, a council of Harmonian bishops was called together, led by Hikusaak.  
  
"May it be known that, in the year 446 in solis, under the blessing of the great Circle Rune, we bishops do humbly pledge to use our knowledge and merit to guide Holy Harmonia in all of her endeavors" Hikusaak said regally, reciting the customary pledge to the assembly of standing priests. "Now" he continued, while motioning the priests to sit, "I trust you all know the gravity of the situation?"  
  
"Yes milord, the assassinations of bishops Seljuk and Baybars was not only extremely unfortunate, but has also left us with two true runes without bearers. Luckily, our priests were able to seal the runes before they completely left their hosts' bodies" a fat bishop related to the assembly.  
  
"However," a scrawny bishop with a nasally voice interjected, "now we are left with the Wind and Earth runes vulnerable. While our seals may be strong, a host would be stronger. And, according to the Scriptures, we can't attach them to anyone unless they are fourteen or more years of age. This leaves twelve years before our new hosts are ready."  
  
Another bishop spoke up and said "Now, this leaves us with three choices, in my view. We can seal the runes away and wait for the boys to reach fourteen, defy the Scriptures and attach them to them earlier, or search for people the runes will choose as their bearers and convince them to stay in Harmonia. Of these three, only one is really plausible. If we were to search for new bearers, we could not be sure of their character and therefore not be sure of their loyalty to Harmonia and her cause. If we were to attach the runes early, not only would we have to deal with dissatisfaction among the papacy, we would also have two true rune bearers whose bodies are not physically able to cope with the energy infused into them. Therefore, we must seal the runes away and wait for the hosts to mature."  
  
"Then it is settled," proclaimed Hikusaak. "We shall wait until our hosts are the age of fourteen before infusing them with the true runes. In the name of Holy Harmonia and of the great Circle Rune, I call this council to an end." And with that he rose, and the fates of who were to be two of the most illustrious men in the world were decided.  
  
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Whew! Sorry that was a boring chapter with too much dialogue, but I couldn't see any other way to introduce the story. I also promise the next chapters will be longer. Please review this, as this is the first time I've ever really written something and I'm interested in knowing how I can improve. 


	2. Chapter 1

All right, this would have been up earlier if my ISP wasn't such a bitch. Seriously, no one should use Verizon Online.  
  
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Two years have passed since Hikusaak and his council determined the fates of two young boys. Not far away from that very council room, one of the boys stood in a nursery, looking out of a window wistfully. His brown eyes scanned the horizon, although he wasn't really thinking about the scenery. His light brown hair fluttered in the breeze. His pale blue robes were carefully pressed, although he was aware of the fact that that would not remain so for long. Suddenly, a voice broke the boy out of his thoughts.  
  
"Hey Sas!"  
  
Sasarai smiled to himself, and turned around to see his best friend standing in the doorway. He was a boy of about four, with the same brown eyes and hair as Sasarai. His style of robes were similar, although of a green hue rather than blue. They have been friends ever since they could remember, and treated each other like brothers. Sasarai let out a big "Hey Luc!" and rushed over to his friend.  
  
"Well," Luc said with a big smile on his face "what would you like to do?"  
  
"I dunno, wanna play Aronia?" Sasarai responded.  
  
"Ok, but I get to be Hikusaak this time!"  
  
"No way, you're ALWAYS Hikusaak!"  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Are too"  
  
"Yeah, well, Aronia is a stupid game anyways" Luc said with a pout.  
  
Sasarai sighed. He didn't want his best friend to be mad at him, even if he was being stubborn. "Ok, fine, I'll be the Evil King this time, but next time we play I get to be Hikusaak, ok?" he said, even though he was pretty sure he'd end up being the Evil King again anyways. Luc's eyes lit up and he smiled as he exclaimed, "Thanks Sas, you're the greatest buddy a guy could ever have."  
  
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In the conference room, another meeting of bishops was taking place. Yet again, Hikusaak was at its head, and after performing all the necessary rites he called the council to order. "Now, who would be so kind as to update me on the seals? Bishop Kelb?"  
  
Bishop Kelb stood up, and exclaimed, "The seals both show an amazing aptitude for magic. Not only do they surpass many of their age in their studies, even some of our lower-ranked priests can't handle magic as well as they can. However."  
  
"However? What could possibly be wrong with them?" Hikusaak enquired.  
  
"Well," Kelb said, "we fear they are becoming too close of friends. If they were to become too close, and one of them lost faith in Harmonia, both of their minds could be poisoned. Therefore, we bishops feel it would be best to separate them before anything serious were to develop. We only await your approval, Lord Hikusaak." Hikusaak thought for a moment, during which the council chamber was dead silent. Finally, he rose and proclaimed, "I understand. Although it may seem cruel, we need to separate them for the good of Harmonia. Now that that is settled, lets move onto the subject of taxation for third class citizens.."  
  
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"No! I won't ever stop being friends with Luc! I hate you!"  
  
Sasarai awoke with a start. It was ten years since he last saw Luc, although he could barely remember him. In fact, he wasn't even sure he existed. Whenever he would ask one of the bishops how Luc was doing, they would all tell him that no such person existed. But that doesn't matter now. What mattered now was that he started getting ready for the Ceremony of the Earth Rune, in which he would be presented with the True Earth Rune and the title of Bishop! Sasarai got out of bed and started to get dressed, putting a pale blue robe over his white shirt and pants. He put on his boots and started looking for his hat. After several moments of searching for it, he still could not find it. His mouth turned into a frown, and his brown eyes looked malevolently at the door to his room. He then called out to his servant, hoping he would know where it was.  
  
"Dios! Can you come in here?" And with that, a lanky boy of about eleven rushed into the room. He had short blonde hair and brown eyes. However, his most interesting facial characteristic was his nose. Oddly enough, his family always prided themselves on their huge noses, and Dios was no exception. He was from a noble's family, and was sent to serve Sasarai in accordance with the custom of the times, in which the first son went to serve a bishop. Now, he asked Sasarai calmly how he could be of service. Sasarai responded with "Dios, I hate to bother you with such a trivial thing, but have you seen my hat? I don't know how something that big managed to get lost."  
  
"My lord, I gave it to the maid for cleaning yesterday. I shall go retrieve it immediately."  
  
"See that you do, and Dios?"  
  
"Yes, my lord?"  
  
Sasarai smiled at his friend, and said to him "Lets hope this ceremony isn't too boring, shall we?"  
  
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Ooh, look at that cliffhanger. Anyways, I wasn't sure what color Dios's eyes were, and I was too lazy to go turn on Suikoden 3 just to check. If anyone really cares enough to correct me on the color, I'll change it. 


End file.
